Sleep
Waking at 3am is common, and mostly not what it feels like
Night waking is normal. What turns it into a problem is what happens in the twenty minutes afterwards.
Sleep
Winding down, waking up, and what to do about the nights in between.
20 articles · updated August 11, 2026 · page 1 of 2
Sleep
The wind-down hour is doing more work than your bedtime
Most sleep advice fixes the moment you get into bed. The hour before it is where the actual problem usually lives.
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Sleep
Shift work and sleep: what actually helps when the schedule cannot change
Most sleep advice assumes you choose your hours. For a large share of people that is not true, and the useful advice is different.
Sleep
What a nap is for, and the two lengths that work
Napping is either an excellent tool or a way to ruin the evening, and the difference is almost entirely duration.
Sleep
Sleep trackers measure something, just not always sleep
Wearables are useful for spotting trends and unhelpful for judging a single night. Knowing which is which prevents a specific kind…
Sleep
Caffeine has a half-life, and that is the whole problem
A coffee at four in the afternoon is still substantially present at bedtime, whether or not you feel it.
Sleep
Alcohol is a sedative, which is not the same as a sleep aid
It shortens the time to fall asleep and reliably damages the second half of the night.
Sleep
Light in the morning does more for sleep than anything at night
The body clock is set primarily by light timing, and the morning signal is the strongest one available.
Sleep
Sleeping badly for a few nights is not insomnia
The clinical definition involves duration, frequency and daytime consequence, and the distinction changes what helps.
Sleep
Bedrooms that are too warm, and the temperature drop that starts sleep
Core body temperature falls to initiate sleep, and a warm room makes that harder than any other environmental factor.
Sleep
What to do with a night you know will be short
Sometimes the sleep is not available. The question is how to lose it with the least cost.
Sleep
Sleep and the menopause transition
Sleep disruption is one of the most commonly reported symptoms, and it has several distinct mechanisms.